The instant invention relates to fishing apparatus and more particularly to a fishing lure assembly with a plurality of interchangeable head portions.
Fishing lures with interchangeable or removable head or body portions have heretofore been known in the art. For example, the U.S. Patents to Gibbs et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,220; Keuper U.S. Pat No. 1,867,458; Murawski U.S. Pat. No. 2,994,982; Rogers U.S. Pat. No. 2,295,292; and Morian U.S. Pat. No. 1,288,118 represent the closest prior art to the subject invention of which the applicant is aware.
The Patent to Gibbs et al discloses a multi-part fishing tackle including a first tackle member, such as a sinker or lure body, that can be removed from a fishing line and replaced by another tackle member of different size, shape, or color, etc. without untying or severing the fishing line. The Patents to Keuper, Murawski, Rogers and Morian all provide for the removal of the head portion of the lure from the body portion thereof. In the Morian patent, heads of different designs may be mounted on the body, thereby eliminating the number of treble hooks to be carried by the fisherman. Murawski discloses a head portion which is detachably connected to a hollow body portion by a screw connection, and permits the addition of water or weighting elements to the body portion for varying the weight of the lure. The detachable head includes mounting means for accepting different miniature baits. The head section in the Keuper patent has surface ornamentation thereon, and other head sections having other formations may be substituted therefor. The Keuper patent also provides for removal of the tail section of the lure. In the Rogers patent, a plurality of different head and body portion may be interchanged.
It is pointed out that in each of the above-referenced patents, the leader eyelet of the lure is attached to the head portion and the head portion is releasably connected to the body portion. While this type of arrangement is convenient in that it allows quick assembly and disassembly, it has been found that the body portion sometimes becomes detached from the head portion during use and becomes lost in the water.